Racing 92 confirm the signing of young England sensation Henry Arundell

Racing 92 have confirmed the signing of rookie England back-three sensation, Henry Arundell – who will join the Parisian club after the World Cup, until next summer.

The 20-year-old, who has started his Test career on the wing, burst to prominence last year with his dazzling, try-scoring exploits for London Irish. He earned an international debut last summer while still a teenager and marked the occasion by touching down in a late cameo off the bench against Australia in Perth.

Arundell was left abruptly unemployed when Irish went into administration last month. However, such is his explosive, game-changing talent, he soon had a host of suitors within the Premiership and beyond. 

He has opted to accept an offer from wealthy, ambitious Racing, where former England head coach Stuart Lancaster has arrived from Leinster to take over as director of rugby and Christian Wade will be on hand to provide valuable mentoring.

At least initially, the deal to play in the French capital will only run until the end of next season. However, it remains to be seen whether any English club will be able to afford to bring Arundell home on a competitive salary, or whether he will choose to extend his stay at Racing. 

Arundell burst to prominence last year with his dazzling, try-scoring exploits for London Irish

He is in a similar situation to Jack Willis – who signed for Toulouse after Wasps collapsed, before agreeing a contract extension after receiving no viable offers from the Premiership.

Unless there is some flexibility from the RFU – which appears unlikely – Arundell is set to miss the Six Nations next year, because his status as a player based abroad would rule him out of contention for England selection. 

However, the turbo-charged prodigy would become available for the end-of-season Tests in Japan and New Zealand, if by then he has secured a deal for a rapid return to the Premiership.

Steve Borthwick picked Arundell to start in the Six Nations finale against Ireland in Dublin last season and he is well aware of his vast potential. Speaking after naming his full World Cup training squad, the England head coach was asked about the possibility of this bright new star and others heading to France. 

He said: ‘I have spoken to him a lot about what’s going on, but the most important thing is that he is a guy who has been focused on the here and now.

‘The speeds he hit yesterday, post training when he wanted to do extra running… I think he hit 10.6 or 10.7 (metres per second) post training. That’s pretty quick. I see a guy who is determined to be the best player he can be and help this team.’